Akanji reviews ‘one of the softest penalties I’ve ever seen’ in Inter 0-1 Liverpool defeat

Manuel Akanji says that Liverpool were awarded ‘one of the softest penalties I’ve ever seen’ after Inter’s 1-0 defeat against Arne Slot’s side in San Siro in the Champions League on Tuesday night. 

The Nerazzurri fell to their second consecutive loss in the Champions League against Liverpool on Tuesday evening after an 88th-minute shirt pull on Florian Wirtz by Alessandro Bastoni, which had initially been waved away before the intervention of VAR.

Head coach Cristian Chivu noted: “The referee was in an excellent position to view the whole incident, and he decided it did not warrant a penalty.” 

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, meanwhile, struggled to keep a straight face when reviewing the incident on Italian TV, before deciding, jokingly: “Oh, it’s a clear penalty.” 

Akanji did not look back on the incident fondly, telling CBS that Liverpool were awarded ‘one of the softest penalties I’ve ever seen’. He also admits that Inter shouldn’t have let themselves get into a position where the referee or VAR were forced into making a decision so late on in the game. 

“It’s tough because in the end we’ve come away with zero points because I think we were the better team, we had the better chances and in the end, to concede a penalty like this is tough, it’s tough to lose a game like this,” the Inter defender said after full-time.  

On the two incidents that required intervention from VAR, Akanji said: “The goal that didn’t count for them, I only saw it live when I was there. In my head it clearly touched Ekitike’s hand and for that I think the goal shouldn’t have counted, but I haven’t seen it back.” 

And on the controversial penalty, he added: “The penalty situation, I mean he pulls his shirt, but it’s a soft pull and obviously if you watch everything in slow motion, everything looks far worse than it actually is. The player runs away from the goal and he pulls his shirt a bit and it’s one of the softest penalties I’ve ever seen. 

“But in the end we have to be honest, we can’t get in the position to give the referee an opportunity to even whistle for a penalty there. For me it’s never a pen.”